Gear trains that require torque sharing among multiple pinions may be found in the automotive industry (e.g., automobile differentials, automobile transmissions, etc.), the aerospace industry (e.g. helicopter transmissions, etc.), the epicyclical transmissions of electric wind-power stations, as well as in many other fields of engineering.
Gear trains may encounter errors caused by the manufacturing of gear train components, the assembly of the gear train, and/or the elastic deformation of gear train components under an operating load, all of which may be unavoidable and may cause unequal torque sharing among the pinions of a gear train.
Increased accuracy for manufacturing of pinions and side gears that make up a gear train may be a straightforward way to reduce instances of unequal torque sharing among multiple pinions caused by misalignment and/or deviation from proper meshing between the pinions and side gears. However, the increase in manufacturing accuracy can be extremely costly and may not be commercially viable in the high volume production of gears for gear trains with split torque.
It may be desirable to design a gear train that is capable of substantially equal torque sharing among all pinions of the gear train without requiring costly changes in manufacturing methods. Moreover, substantially equal torque sharing in a gear train with split torque may make it possible to at least double torque density through the gear train.